3200

David Caldwell and St. Albans in South Charleston, WV

Midway into the first straightaway of the eighth lap, across the field from the gallery, Caldwell quietly runs off the track and onto the infield. He bends over, hands on knees, and catches his breath. It's true that these guys train hard every day, but Caldwell's moment here reminds me that even they don't do this every day.

Ellis wins the race in 9:48. Fourteen seconds better than his previous best time, moving him into second place in 3200m performances in West Virginia this season. Second, for the moment, only to Caldwell.

After the race, I hunt Caldwell down because I want to tell him what a singular, exceptional, selfless, perfect, contra munda thing he had just done. Because of him, the Ellis kid has done something significant that he quite possibly would never have otherwise achieved. Caldwell was the only person in our part of the world who could possibly have done this. And there was nothing in it for Caldwell. I want to be able to put this emphatically and in a way that it will stick with Caldwell, like a good sermon.

But I don't. As I approach the calm and unassuming young man, I come to my senses. You should never try to upstage a perfect act.

Instead, I just introduce myself as Caleb Ellis' father, shake his hand and say, "Thank you."

LARRY ELLIS is the author of the award-winning novel In The Forest Of The Night . His son, Caleb Ellis, is now running cross country at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. David Caldwell is running for Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va.